Mauritia maculifera (Schilder, 1932)

Reticulated
cowry, 40-74mm

Mauritia maculifera is
a common species that prefers intertidal and shallow subtidal reefs, where it
usually lives in reef depressions or under large rocks. They are common on shallow
seaward reefs, where they are often exposed to strong surge from crashing surf.
They also live in along quieter rocky shores, such as the manmade riprap along
the lagoon side of Kwajalein’s eastern half. It is not difficult to see
numerous living animals out at night grazing on the rocks above the waterline
at low tide. Specimens can be found under rocks and in depressions on the seaward
reefs to depths of at least 4m. This species resembles both

and M.
depressa, which are distinctly spotted with solid brown between the
spots.

Mauritia

depressa

tends to be smaller
and more flattened (depressed?), while M. scurra is distinctly cylindrical
in shape rather than oval.

Mauritia maculifera

differs from
all four of these similarly colored species in the presence of a dark blotch
(in fully grown shells) on the columellar side of the base. Mauritia maculifera
is a Pacific species, ranging from western Polynesia and Hawaii to Fiji and
through Micronesia to the Philippines.

Two specimens guard an egg mass
on an overturned rock out of the water at low tide.

The next few shots were three individuals seen under rocks in the low intertidal.